Thursday, 22 January 2015

If you actually know anything about anything that the SJWs get bent out of shape about, look at the claims they make that fall within your area of expertise. Do they have any connection to reality? Are these the statements of a person who is not mentally ill?

Of course not. And it's not just lefty SJWs, of course. From frat-house gang rapes to satanic daycare centers to peasants being turned into newts, there's never been a shortage of madfolk to make outrageous claims. The mad tales that serve the interests of the current rulers are taken seriously (at least for public consumption).

And so we hang the old woman who gave young Nellie the evil eye, and the Church inherits her cottage and lands. And, in these more civilized days, tech companies buy indulgences for not having the approved ethnic and gender balance, and then treat themselves with a course of leeches.

Wednesday, 26 November 2014

FERGUSON ERUPTS

Yeah. Was all primed for it, and this stuff sells newspapers (and/or eyeballs).

The mainstream press has been setting this up all along. Even after evidence supporting the cop's story started dribbling out, serious, professional columnists for well-established publications were asserting as fact that the deceased* was murdered by a cop while attempting to surrender.

The spirit of William Randolph Hearst is alive, if somewhat attenuated.

When you ponder who might benefit from unrest and war, remember who distributes the divisive propaganda, and observe that they also profit from covering the tragedies they help to incite.

Sunday, 16 November 2014

Two related items have grabbed the Internet's attention in the last few days: the foofaraw over a garish shirt, and the attention a curvy young woman attracted while walking through certain areas of New York City.

The catcall video: Surprise! Some lower-class men can be rude, by the standards of the privileged classes. This is of course completely unprecedented; in all other times and places, surely the lower classes were unfailingly polite to their betters.

The shirtstorm: Curiously enough, some creative people don't have the specific set of social skills and conventions-of-the-week to mix well with the modern clerisy. This is absurd, as surely they can take time out from painting masterpieces and landing spaceships on comets to attend finishing school, and the weekly and annual refreshers.

We seem to have acquired a collection of classes - ruling, chattering, and academic - drawn from the wealthy and privileged ranks of society, and completely unaware that anyone outside their bubble even exists - or, when they're forced to notice, their reaction is that such people ought not to exist.

Which brings us to that third item. Building codes certainly serve a good purpose; if I buy or rent a building, or take a job in one, I do want assurance that it's been built to proper standards, and duly inspected and certified as structurally sound and fit for use.

And yet: Many jurisdictions insist that building codes apply to structures that will be occupied solely by the builder, and make violations (including failure to secure the government's blessing) a crime. So, buy a cheap bit of land out of sight of anyone, build a shack from scrounged materials, and live in it alone, without modern amenities, and just for that you become a criminal.

Back when we had that big recall election in California, and anyone with a few bucks and a few dozen acquaintances could run for Governor, I toyed with the idea of running on an Evil Overlord platform. One of the planks was this: I planned to eliminate poverty in California though a system of regressive taxes which would force the poor to move out.

Alas, this notion has now gone mainstream, backed by a submerged version of the sentiment commonly misattributed to Marie Antoinette: "The peasants have no bread? Well, can't they eat cake?"

The ones who make the rules, and who define (with ever-shifting social conventions) Polite Society, simply can't imagine any lifestyle other than their own, let alone anyone wanting to live that way. Homesteaders, hillbillies, carnies, artists (the talented kind, not the rich and famous kind), or even the workmen who keep the cities running but can't afford posh penthouses: those people, if we must notice them at all, are scary!

The same attitude, by the way, is behind the Affordable Care Prevention Act, whereof the premise is that everyone is entitled to, and must have, the sort of comprehensive health plan to which the professional classes have become accustomed, and details of how the lower classes will pay for such a thing are of no consequence.

We must force everyone into the same mold! Full conformity of lifestyle and opinion (apart from certain approved deviations for members of certain approved groups) must be attained!

Because we simply cannot tolerate the presence of Unmutuals in our society.

Wednesday, 05 November 2014

(Not here in California, but the California Republican Party was basically useless twenty-some years ago when I first looked at it, and since then has deteriorated to the point it's not even a credible scapegoat.)

Look for escalating insanity from the blue tribe, especially with regard to actions to be taken by the lame-duck Senate. Last chance for Blue nominees to the Supreme Court; how much pressure can be brought on aging Justices to retire immediately? Will the lunatic fringe shout "Wolverines!" and call for the assassination of a few Justices, so their replacements can be rushed through before the red dawn of the new Senate?

Not that the change of party in the Senate is gonna make that much difference, really, what with the Imperial Presidency, the quasi-independent Fed, and the Deep State running amok. Remember: no matter who you vote for, the Government gets elected.

Though maybe the Ear Leader will get discouraged - hey, it's the first job he's held for more than two years, right? - and call in sick to spend the rest of his term golfing, or perhaps resign so that he can run for Queen of the Space Unicorns, or something.

Which would leave us with President Plugs, but at least everyone realizes he's an imbecile. Right?

Afterthought: If the blue team had any sense, they'd have lost intentionally, leaving the red team in charge when things fall apart completely. I think, however, that Hanlon's Razor applies here.

Thursday, 17 July 2014

The Indiegogo site notes the huge amount of out-of-state funding for both the "real" candidates in the Senate race in question.

Which leads to the question: why not?

After all: while, in principle, a Senator ought to represent the interests of his* state, with the vast expansion of central power, basically every federal office affects everyone in every state.

So, really, between the national implications of any campaign for any federal office and the effects of party-based organization of the legislature, is it any surprise that these races draw money from all over?

(They have implications for China, Russia, Ukraine, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, too, but none of the candidates are accepting donations from those places. Officially. Right?)

And of course there's nothing whatsoever wrong with local grassroots groups taking the Bloombucks, and the centrally-written agenda that comes with them....

* Yes, "his"; if you go back far enough that this might actually have been the case, women didn't even have the vote yet. (Do not assume I'm implying a connection.)

Friday, 02 May 2014

Now Patterico's linked to one of these things, noting how pointless it is.

Had I rather more idle time and inspiration, I might throw together a privilege-check quiz aimed at those most likely to invoke the catchphrase.

A few sample questions:

Have you ever had a job from which you could be fired?

Have you ever had a job providing a product or service which the customers could choose to buy, or not, without compulsion?

Have you ever had a job at which your performance could be objectively evaluated?

If you lost your temper, would your behavior be automatically excused on the basis of your sex or ethnicity?

Anyway, you get the idea. There are plenty of people out there in real positions of privilege, often acting on behalf of, and shielded by, the State. Those who throw around casual accusations of privilege are often members of this group, or aspire to membership.

The idea that yer basic working stiff is privileged brings to mind an old Jewish joke....

Wednesday, 16 April 2014

Um. It's supposed to be a republic, not a democracy. Not the same thing. A true democracy is not consistent with a Constitution that constrains government powers, because

Constitutional provisions that curtail the legislative power to govern in this area unquestionably do more harm than good.

(My, how useful that magic phrase is!)

So, try this one: it's an oligarchy, not a republic. This is even worse, because the government is supposed to be subject to well-defined, published, and well-understood laws, and in fact it has a longstanding practice of interpreting those laws out of existence when they don't fit the agenda of the ruling class.

And just watch the collectivists (I should know; I was one of them, back in my college days) proclaim that their agenda is what the Median Voter wants, and that we need even bigger government, plus some form of divine intervention, to make it happen.

In fact, big-money oligarchy is the inevitable result of centralized government with power to mess with the economy. Were the Tenth Amendment in effect, there would be little incentive for businessmen to buy the federal government.

Tuesday, 15 April 2014

Yeah, so, surprise, surprise: Intuit, purveyors of fine Turbot Axes, have been engaging in rent-seeking, helping block changes to the U.S. tax system that would make taxes simpler and filing easier.

But looks at the dire consequences all around, should the tax system be simplified! The complexity creates all those jobs for tax accountants, tax preparers, tax attorneys, financial planners with expertise in tax avoidance, and of course IRS employees and their state counterparts.

If it suddenly got simple, all those people would be out of jobs! Think of the terrible blow to the economy!